Faction or Blood
by trenzaloki
Summary: Sixteen year old Amity twins Erin and Casey choose their factions, which soon result in complications for the both of them
1. The Test

"So? What faction did they recommend?" Erin eagerly asked her twin brother during the walk back home from the building that conducts the aptitude tests on all of the sixteen year olds.

Casey paused before answering, "I don't know if I should say. I mean, we aren't supposed to tell anybody about our results."

"Oh come one, I'm your sister!" She hopped excitedly around him. "I got Amity! Which I was going to choose anyway, but now I'm really sure!"

"Thats... great, Erin. Congratulations," Casey hung his head and stared at the floor for the rest of the walk home while Erin chattered on about all of her friends that were staying in Amity.

When they reached their house, their parents welcomed them with hugs. "So, we know we can't ask," they both had huge smiles on their faces, "but did you like your results?"

"Yup! I'm so excited, I just can't wait to meet all the new people that are going to transfer here!" Erin twirled around to see her new yellow dress spin in a circle. She giggled and continued, "Casey what faction were you recommended for?"

"Um..." he glanced around the room. Everything was so bright and colorful. Most of the furniture was red and yellow, the Amity colors, but what he needed at the moment was peace and quiet. "Amity," he lied.

"That's great! You'll stay here with mom and dad and me!" Erin twirled with excitement.

"Yeah..." he paused, "I'm gonna head to bed so I'll uh, see you tomorrow."

Once he left the room Erin turned to her parents, "Is something wrong? What happened to him? He was fine before the test."

"Why don't you let him rest tonight and ask him tomorrow. Whatever it is must have him stressed out, and it's probably a better idea to leave him to himself tonight, Erin," her mother spoke softly as always.

"Alright. Well, big day tomorrow, so I better get some rest too! Good night!" Erin skipped through their small but cozy house and jumped onto her bed. Her room smelled like pine trees, a definite advantage that came from Amity's work in the fields: it always smelled fresh in their faction. She inhaled deeply, and exhaled with a giggle. She had been waiting for this day and the next for her entire childhood, and now that it was happening, it felt unreal. There was something satisfying about choosing the way she would live the rest of her life. Most of the teenagers that would be choosing their factions tomorrow didn't quite feel that way, but Erin was just so excited to meet the new transfers that would live in her faction. Thoughts like this ran through her head for about a half an hour before she drifted off to sleep. After all, she would need a good night's sleep for the chaos that was waiting for her the next day.


	2. The Preparation

Like every morning of her life, Erin woke up with a refreshing yawn to the sound of Amity's wake-up bell. When she remembered that today was the day of the choosing ceremony, an excited squeal escaped her lips. Wanting to be especially ready for the ceremony, she took a bath and washed her hair, something most of the Amity kids rarely did. She hummed along as she prepared herself for one of the most exciting days of her life. She pulled a fresh yellow dress out of a drawer and put it on, then brushed her wet hair.

When she wandered out to the living room, her parents were sitting on the couch with tea and Amity's bread. "Hi Mom, hi Dad!" she said while plopping herself down on the couch and reaching out to grab a piece of bread. As she bit into the soft, sweet bread she could feel the drug working. The Peace Serum that was baked into all of Amity's bread worked quickly, spreading a wave of serenity through her body. At that moment, Casey walked into the room looking more sad than usual, just like he had yesterday. Erin passed it off as nerves over the choosing ceremony. Everyone was nervous about it.

"Hey, is there any more bread?" He asked, sounding incredibly dull compared to his usual upbeat self.

"Yeah, right over here," Erin motioned to the bread on the table and motioned for him to sit next to her on the couch.

"Thanks," he mumbled as he sat emotionlessly on the couch. "Um, how long do we have until we go to the ceremony?"

"About three hours. Plenty of time to go pick some apples, don't you think?" Erin couldn't sit still on the couch.

"You go ahead, I don't feel like that today. Maybe another time, Erin."

"Alright, well I'm going to go meet Krista and pick apples, I'll be back in an hour or so. Bye!" She hopped off the couch, picked up her favorite fruit basket, and headed out the door.

As soon as she left her parents shot each other a look that said _Oh, she's ridiculous but I love her_.

"So, Casey, are you excited to meet some new Amity transfers?" His dad asked.

"Yeah, I guess. Nobody really transfers here, so there probably won't be anybody new though," Casey responded

"Don't be so down, there'll be tons of new transfers," his mom leaned to him and rubbed his back to comfort him but he shifted away.

"Not where I'll be," he whispered away from his parents so they couldn't hear.

"Here, honey, have another piece of bread. That'll help," his mom forced him another slice of bread.

"This goddamn bread isn't some kind of miracle! It doesn't just magically solve all of the world's problems, got it? So why don't you think about the real world sometimes and stop relying on some chemicals in your food to make you feel things, alright?" When he looked up to his parents' faces smiling lovingly at him, he realized that he said none of that out loud. He realized that it was probably for the better that he hadn't, and took the bread his mother was handing him. Despite his recently found opinions about the Amity bread, once he ate some of it, a good portion of that anger just melted away.

A smile crept onto his face, and even though it was completely brought on by the Peace Serum. "I'm gonna go read in my room until the ceremony." The serum may have made Casey smily on the outside, his true feeling didn't change one bit. He wandered back into his own bedroom and collapsed on the mattress for a few hours.

While he lay there, his mind began to wander. He still hadn't chosen a faction, and he found himself asking questions he had never asked before. What good does Amity do? Why do they want to be happy all the time? What good is peace if you don't have a war to compare it to?


End file.
